


Epic Gamer Moments

by demizorua



Category: Good Game (TV 2017)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:21:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22666174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demizorua/pseuds/demizorua
Summary: Various one-shots and drabbles about everyone's favorite Epic Gamers!!
Comments: 5
Kudos: 16





	1. Plastic

**Author's Note:**

> i have a fair amount of random drabbles about the esports fam and the good game server was like "u should post them" so here we are!
> 
> there might be like. hints of ships or whatever in some chapters but mostly just Found Family

Ash hurried up the apartment stairs, taking the steps two at a time. She had no idea what would be waiting for her when she reached the boys’ apartment, only having a single text from Sam to go off of.

* * *

**Sam:**  
lmaooo the boys are fighting

* * *

Ryland hadn’t responded when she asked him what was going on and, while _logically_ Ash knew it probably wasn’t anything serious, that didn’t stop her from worrying.

She had learned a long time ago not to underestimate how stupid her team could be.

Jamming her spare key into the lock, Ash forced the stuck door open, as prepared for she could be for whatever was on the other side of the door. Some would say she was overreacting. Those people hadn’t experienced the chaotic evil that characterized her team first hand.

Bracing herself, Ash prepared for the disaster she thought lay before her, shouldering her way into the apartment.

What she found was, in some ways, more worrying than what she expected.

Ryland and Alex had apparently annexed the gaming table, stealing chairs from it and creating a makeshift fortress. At the center of the structure the two of them sat in chairs facing away from each other, Alex gripping Ryland’s hand behind his back. The rest of the team was standing to the side; Lorenzo looked concerned, Kamal was taking numerous pictures while laughing, and Sam was just watching, unamused.

Ash walked around the barricade, going to stand next to Sam.

“So,” Ash started, trailing off and opting to just gesture vaguely at the scene before them.

“Yeah.” Sam nodded, not offering any further explanation.

“…Why are Alex and Ryland sitting with their backs to each other?” Kamal burst into loud laughter, prompting a glare from Ryland across the room.

“They had a fight,” Sam said, clearly unamused.

“Then why are they holding hands?”

“They get sad when they fight,” Sam replied, unable to hold back a smirk at that. Kamal was still giggling, having pulled his phone back out and now recording. Ash wasn’t sure whether she wanted to facepalm or laugh along with Kamal.

“What was the fight about?” Ash asked, turning toward the two bickering men. Alex pouted, crossing his arms as best as he could while still holding onto Ryland. Ryland just rolled his eyes, looking over at Ash.

“It was nothing-”

“FOUR MONTHS!!” Alex shouted, standing and whipping around to glare at Ryland.

“Woah -- four months -- what?” Ash interjected, completely lost.

“Alex, it’s not a big deal,” Ryland said, standing to face Alex. Alex still looked upset, finally dropping Ryland’s hand so he could properly cross his arms and pout at him.

“Alex, what the hell happened?” Ash asked, taking a step towards the two. Kamal was snickering in the background, holding his phone up to get a better shot of the drama, while Lorenzo had slunk to the back, almost trying to disappear.

“FOUR MONTHS YOU STOOD THERE,” Alex yelled, throwing his arms up in frustration, “AND WATCHED ME WATER A FAKE PLANT!!”

The room was silent for a single moment, the tension so thick it could be sliced with a knife. Then Kamal burst out laughing obnoxiously, provoking Sam and Ash into doing the same. Even Lorenzo couldn’t help but grin, chuckling slightly in the background.

“Alex, it’s fine, c’mon,” Ryland said, awkwardly placing a hand on Alex's shoulder. "We can get a real plant if you want." Alex frowned, looking down at Ryland’s connected hand, recognizing the subtle signal from the other.

Ryland was typically very uncomfortable with physical contact, but he knew how much Alex relied on it, so the two had developed a way to avoid discomfort while keeping them both happy. If Ryland initiated contact, it was a sign that Alex could express as much physical affection as we wanted -- within reason, that is.

Ryland could tell that Alex was actually (at least somewhat) upset, so he was trying to comfort him as best as he could.

Still pouting, Alex accepted the offering of peace, hugging Ryland quickly and burying his face in Ryland's shoulder.

“Gayyy,” Kamal joked, still recording in the background. Ryland flipped him off behind his back, and the team quickly fell back into their usual dynamic.

Ash sighed, shaking her head at her teammates' antics. Nobody else would have a feud over a _plastic potted plant._ It’s ridiculous.

And she loves them for it, god dammit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> based on two quotes from @incorrectgoodgamequotes!!
> 
> [here](https://incorrectgoodgamequotes.tumblr.com/post/186694482259/sam-why-are-alex-and-ryland-sitting-with-their) and [here](https://incorrectgoodgamequotes.tumblr.com/post/184220526656/alex-four-months-ash-whats-going-on-ryland)!


	2. Dye

"When did you dye your hair?"

Ryland turned his gaze away from the TV screen, jumping slightly as Sam burst into the apartment. Alex's head popped up from behind the couch, his hair messed up from lying awkwardly on Ryland’s shoulder, before settling down again. Ash didn’t visibly react, continuing to scroll through her feed on the opposing loveseat.

Sam dropped her bag by the gaming setup, flopping down beside Ash to wait for their teammates to arrive for practice. Ryland turned his attention back to the mindless console game, eyes glazing over slightly as he flicked the joysticks lazily.

“No, but actually,” Sam said, nudging Ash slightly. “When did you get it done?”

“Sophomore year of high school,” Ash replied, still not looking up. “This specific color I’ve had for, like, a year, though.” Sam nodded, humming as she examined Ash’s hair.

“What about you, Ryland?” Sam joked, turning to look at the guys. Ryland didn’t respond, still spacing out while staring at the TV screen, and Sam’s face adopted a deadpan expression.

“Ry,” Alex murmured, elbowing him lightly. Ryland shook his head, head snapping over to look at Alex, then to Sam and Ash. Sam stifled a chuckle, repeating her question.

“When did you get your hair dyed?” Ryland let the controller fall into his lap, running his hand through his ponytail and pulling on it slightly.

“Uh, jeez…” he said, sighing, “like… three years ago?” Rubbing his beard absently, he huffed, looking up at the ceiling in thought. “It was a bit after I moved here, but before I met Alex. Wanted to distance myself from my younger self.”

“Are you gonna dye your hair, Sam?” Alex asked, grinning at her excitedly. Sam shrugged, leaning back against the couch.

“I mean, maybe? Now that I’m not doing tennis anymore I’ve been thinking of letting my hair grow out a bit. Adding a color might be cool, too. I dunno.”

“Well, if you do dye it, be prepared to spend a shitton of money on conditioner,” Ash chuckled, slipping her phone into her pocket and running a hand through her hair. “Bleachin’ it makes your hair dry as _shit._ ” Alex frowned, looking up at Ryland confusedly.

“I didn’t think you used conditioner, Ryles.”

“I don’t,” Ryland said, picking the controller up and returning to the game. “Shit’s expensive.”

“It’s worth it if you don’t want your hair to feel like literal straw,” Ash replied, and Sam giggled as Ryland rolled his eyes absently. Alex was still frowning, his brows furrowed in thought.

“But Ryland’s hair is super soft,” he said, reaching up and running his hand through Ryland’s ponytail. Ryland stiffened slightly but didn’t protest, a faint reddish tinge sprouting on his face.

“No way,” Ash insisted. “That can _not_ be true.” Sam didn’t say anything, just standing up and marching over to Ryland and Alex.

Ryland eyed her carefully, opening his mouth to object as she leaned over the arm of the couch towards him. Before he could push her away, though, she’d already grabbed his hair tie, pulling it loose and letting his hair fall freely to his shoulders.

“Woah -- hey!”

Ignoring Ryland’s bark of protest, Sam stuck her hand into his hair, eyes widening slightly as she ran her fingers through it.

“Holy shit,” she murmured, “this is… _really_ fucking soft.”

“I told you!” Alex exclaimed, sporting a crooked grin. Ryland shoved Sam away, his blush darker than it was before. Just as he did, though, he felt another hand lightly petting the top of his head, fingers tangling into the soft strands of hair.

“Fuck, you’re right,” Ash said incredulously, having come to stand behind the couch without Ryland’s noticing. “What products do you use? I would _kill_ to have hair like this.” Ryland’s shoulders slumped as her nails lightly scratched at his scalp, his eyes slipping shut involuntarily. He found himself leaning slightly into the touch before he could stop himself, enjoying the comforting feeling.

Ryland was abruptly reminded where he was and he scrambled to his feet, the game controller falling to the floor, forgotten. He whipped around to face the other three people in the room, feeling his face heat up in embarrassment. All three of them were staring at him, Sam and Ash with varying degrees of confusion, while Alex just wore a smug smirk.

“Uh, dude?” Ryland pointedly looked away from Sam’s face, hoping his blush wasn’t as obvious as it felt. Alex broke into giggles, falling back against the now empty space on the couch in laughter.

“Alex, shut the fuck up,” Ryland growled, trying to tuck his hair back. He didn’t know what to do with his hands so he settled for anxiously carding his fingers through his hair while he glared at the other man. Ash raised an eyebrow at his reaction, appearing to catch on to what had just occurred as she grinned at Ryland.

“Why don’t you ever let your hair down, Ryland?” Ash asked, walking around the couch towards him. She paused to pick up the discarded hair tie, a mischievous smirk on her face.

“I don’t like hair on my neck,” Ryland muttered, allowing Ash to take his hand and lead him back to the sofa. “Feels weird.”

Ash had Ryland sit on the edge of the sofa, placing herself in between him and Alex. Putting the hair tie on her wrist, she began to gather Ryland’s hair into one handful, combing her fingers through it gently. Fighting to keep his eyes open, Ryland let her continue, fidgeting with his hands nervously.

Alex gasped suddenly, leaning forward beside Ash. “Are you gonna braid his hair?” Sam’s eyes lit up, a teasing grin overtaking the previous confusion on her face.

“Do you want me to, Ryland?” Ash asked, the teasing lilt in her voice indicating that she had absolutely been planning to do so from the start.

“Ry, c’mon, you _gotta,_ ” Alex whined, his voice pleading. Ryland, who had been glaring at Sam up to that point, sighed, his heart melting at Alex’s request.

“Alright,” he sighed, tilting his head back slightly. “Fine.” Alex squealed excitedly, scooting forward to squeeze into the space beside Ash. Ryland sighed again, deliberately closing his eyes when he saw Sam pull out her phone, angling it towards him. She was definitely recording this, god dammit. 

“Can you do mine after?” Alex asked, watching entranced as Ash collected Ryland’s hair into three neat bundles. “I’ve always wanted to learn how to braid hair.”

“I can teach you,” Ash said, beginning to weave the bunches of hair into a clean braid. “It’s not that hard.”

“Really?” Ash chuckled, grinning at Alex’s relentless excitement.

“Yeah, sure," she replied, releasing the half-finished braid and combing Ryland's hair out with her fingers. Ryland sighed as Alex placed himself between Ash and Ryland, gently grabbing Ryland's hair as Ash began to instruct his movements. Resigning himself to being used as a hair model, Ryland cast another glare at Sam's camera before allowing his eyes to slip shut once more.

* * *

“The fuck are you doing over there?”

Kamal flung his backpack haphazardly to the side as he entered the apartment, Lorenzo carefully closing the door behind them. The rest of the team was gathered on the sofas, Ash braiding Alex’s hair and Alex braiding Ryland’s. Sam was off to the side recording, grinning up at Kamal as he entered.

“Hey loser,” Sam greeted, waving delightedly. “Hi Lorenzo.”

“Hello,” Lorenzo said, carefully setting his things down by the computers. “What, ah… what’s going on?”

“Ash is teaching me how to braid!” Alex exclaimed, shifting Ryland’s hair into one hand so he could wave to his friends with the other. Ash nodded to them, picking up another torn piece of cloth to weave into Alex’s curls.

Ryland didn’t bother greeting them, his eyes shut and head tilted back. His expression was more relaxed than any of them had ever seen it as he leaned into Alex’s hands, a faint blush still dusting his cheeks. His hair was pulled into a number of small braids, various scraps of cloth and colored beads woven into the fine hair. Alex’s hair was similarly decorated, the only difference being that the braids in his hair were much neater and more evenly distributed.

“What is this, an preteen girl’s slumber party?” Kamal snickered, walking over to the group. Sam grinned at that, taking another picture of the braiding train with a snigger.

“Aww, don’t be jealous, Kamal,” Ash teased, glancing up at him. “I can teach you how to braid too.” Kamal rolled his eyes, flopping down on the couch beside Sam, pulling out his phone to get some pictures for himself. Ryland flipped him off without opening his eyes, just raising his hand to the side. Lorenzo stood awkwardly off to the side, watching everything play out.

“So, are we going to have practice today, or…?”

“Yeah, but we’ve got time,” Ash said, “we can do this for a while. Team bonding, and all that.” Lorenzo nodded, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt nervously. Ash glanced up at him, catching his uncertain expression. “Hey, Lorenzo, c’mere.”

“Huh?”

“Alex could use some help choosing which beads to use; he’s been trying to decide for, like, 5 minutes now.” Lorenzo’s eyes brightened, smiling as he came to stand behind the couch. Kamal groaned theatrically, slumping back against the couch with a sigh.

When practice finally started an hour later, even Kamal had a torn ribbon tied in his short locks. The beads in Alex’s hair rattled as he bounced around energetically, cheering the team on with a grin, and it was clear that he wasn't the only one feeling rejuvenated from the "team bonding exercise" -- the entire group was much less tense, playing and communicating with each other better than they ever had.

Ryland felt calmer than he could ever remember being, his thoughts serene and collected. His clearer state of mind only helped his performance so, overall, Ryland considered the experience a net positive. Not to mention the lingering tingles at the base of his neck from his friends’ fingers, still threatening to send a shiver down his spine.

Ryland would never admit it to anyone, but he loved people playing with his hair; it had always been a surefire way to get him to relax. Alex had discovered by accident a few years back, but even he didn't really know just how comforting it was to Ryland. At least, until now.

Most of his mind was screaming in mortification, horrified that his friends had found out about this guilty pleasure. A small, traitorous part of Ryland, though, was delighted. That part of him was what let Ryland to wonder if he could get this to happen again, or even make it a regular occurrence. That would require him admitting his fondness for the activity, however, and Ryland was certain he wouldn't be able to do that, regardless of how good it felt.

Then again, going off of the fond and mischievous smiles Alex and Ash kept throwing his way, Ryland probably wouldn’t have to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love me some snomft ryland baybee!! idk where the idea for this came from it just sorta Happened one day
> 
> also all of these have stupid names for their documents. this one is called "when did you die"


	3. Integral

“I hate this. I hate this!” Ryland shouted, tossing the thick packet of paper back on the desk aggressively. He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms in frustration. Sam looked up from her phone, raising an eyebrow with a smirk.

“Dude. It’s, like, grade school math,” she said, eyeing Ryland judgmentally. Ryland glared up at her while Kamal laid on his back, scrolling through his phone upside down.

“You try it, then! I swear, it wasn’t this fucking hard when I was in highschool,” Ryland grumbled, pouting at Sam as she went to grab the packet.

“‘Evaluate the integral of x times the square root of one minus x, dx.’ Okay. Alright,” Sam said, looking over the paper at Kamal, who was decidedly not paying attention, “so. First of all. What the fuck.”

“See! I told you,” Ryland yelled, throwing his hands above his head triumphantly. “It’s bullshit!” 

“Why are you all crowded over there?” Ash asked, walking through the door with Alex behind her. “And why is Ryland yelling?”

“Math,” Kamal answered, still scrolling through his phone. "These dipshits are forcing me to do homework so I'm forcing them to help me."

Setting the bags of takeout on the counter, Ash made her way over to the makeshift study session on the couches. Ryland was tucked into the corner of one couch, glaring at the papers like they had burned him, while Sam sat on the other, scrutinizing the worksheet closely. Kamal lay face up on the floor next to the coffee table, and Lorenzo was standing by the whiteboard he'd placed in front of the TV, furiously scribbling out characters, then promptly erasing them.

"Not to brag, but I'm usually pretty good at math," Lorenzo said, erasing the latest addition to the board in frustration. "But I've never seen anything this… this… confusing!!"

"It's that bad?" Ash asked, taking a seat next to Sam and peering over her shoulder at the assignment. "Oh fuck. Yeah, that's disgusting." Turning to Kamal, she tossed the paper towards him, landing on his face with a flat slapping sound.

"I'm just gonna take the zero," Kamal said, sitting up and letting the paper fall into his lap. "I don't give enough fucks for this shit."

"You gotta put _something_ down," Alex said, having sat next to Ryland, "teachers hate when you leave shit blank."

"Fuck that," Kamal replied, "I'm physically incapable of caring anymore."

"No, he's right," Ash interjected. "If you make it look like you tried, the teacher'll give you at least partial credit." Kamal groaned, grabbing a pencil and moving the paper to the coffee table. After a few minutes of frantic scribbling and erasing, he groaned again, throwing the pencil down in frustration.

"Dude, _fuck_ this! What the hell!" he shouted, turning away from the offending problem in anger. Sam burst out laughing, earning a glare from the frustrated Kamal.

"Just write down an answer and be done with it," Sam said through laughter, grinning unhelpfully. Kamal flipped her off, reading over the problem again, as if it would suddenly make sense.

"Is 'shut the fuck up' an acceptable answer? Because I am _so fucking done_ with this." Ash smirked, standing up and making her way to the forgotten takeout.

"Show your work," she called over her shoulder.

A wadded up ball of paper sailed over her shoulder in response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fuck math, fuck calculus, fuck school, goodnight everyone
> 
> this one's based off of another quote from @incorrectgoodgamequotes on tumblr! this one [here](https://incorrectgoodgamequotes.tumblr.com/post/182377635166/kamal-is-shut-the-fuck-up-a-acceptable-answer)!


End file.
